Passover Mock Chopped Liver (Mushroom, Cashew, and Onion)

I don’t care for the name of this dish, but it’s a Jewish faux classic. It might look a bit like the dish it’s intending to imitate, but it tastes nothing like it — thank goodness! Another version is made with green beans (see Green Bean and Cashew Pâté — though Ashkenazik Jews don’t use green beans during the Passover week). The essential difference between this and the other recipe on this site is the use of mushrooms; both are simple and tasty. Serve with matzo or matzo crackers or raw veggies. This makes about 2 cups.

Hi. Just finished preparing this. Delicious. I want to serve it the first night of Seder but feel like I should refrigerate it — will it go bad if I do, do you think? And I want to freeze some for someone to taste a month or two from now. What do you think? Thank you so much.

Arlene, you should definitely at least refrigerate it —very tightly lidded. I think it should freeze fine, too. Maybe once it thaws you can give it a whirl in the food processor once again to improve the texture. Happy holiday!

Hi Robyn — it’s hard to replace nuts and seeds for their rich flavor, and beans aren’t allowed in the Ashkenazik tradition, of course, so the only thing that comes to mind would be avocado. It’s also rich and flavorful. Maybe step up the lemon just a bit so that it doesn’t brown. The texture won’t be as firm without the nuts, but hopefully it will do the trick.

Chaya, cashews lend kind of a creamy texture to this, and are very tasty, but you could use blanched almonds as well. Make sure to grind them to a fine powder. If it’s an allergy to tree nuts in general, though, it’s a trickier question!

Max, this recipe assumes you’re starting with cashews that you bought already pre-toasted (or roasted). Which they likely are, unless you only have raw cashews on hand. If that’s the case you can toast them in a toaster oven at 300 degrees F., or even on a dry skillet, stirring occasionally, until nice and golden brown.

I am a bit surprised this does not call for a hard boiled egg or two. I am going to increase the mushroom and onion content and add 2 hard boiled eggs. You cannot make chopped liver (faux or otherwise) without the eggs. Give it a try.